In the turbulent world of the cryptocurrency circle, countless retail investors are dreaming of getting rich overnight, especially indulging in the fantasy of withdrawing money. Every night, they carefully read the so-called U withdrawal strategy like treasure hunters studying ancient maps, with their eyes flashing with the desire for large amounts of wealth. Seeing others encounter difficulties when withdrawing money, they raise their mouths and leave bold words in the comment area with disdain: "Withdrawing money? It's a small matter. Wouldn't it be fine if you go straight to Hong Kong or overseas?" However, the cruel truth is that most of them have never really set foot in the field of large-scale withdrawals. Just one experience of selling 9,987 yuan of U in the exchange OTC, and begging the merchant to make up for the mere 13 yuan, constitutes the entire territory of their understanding of withdrawals. They naively thought that this small-scale withdrawal model could be infinitely magnified, from 10,000 to 10 million or even hundreds of millions, which is just a simple stacking of numbers, but they have no idea that there is a huge gap like a natural moat. This is as absurd as imagining that ancient emperors wielded golden hoes while tilling the fields, and used golden chamber pots to urinate at night. They simply cannot get a glimpse of the mystery and complexity behind the operation of truly huge wealth.

Those retail investors who boasted on the Internet that they had made a lot of money in the cryptocurrency circle and had achieved financial freedom were almost all telling lies. Because when they really faced the critical link of cashing out, the risks hidden in it were like time bombs that could blow them to pieces at any time and plunge them into an abyss of no return. On the other hand, those bigwigs who really struggled in the cryptocurrency circle and gained huge wealth knew the hardships and ups and downs along the way. They had a strong resonance and recognition of the truth about the withdrawal of funds that I revealed in their hearts. Those who talked a lot in the comment area, made suggestions, and even accused Uncle Six of deliberately creating anxiety were just dreamers who talked about war on paper. They thought that withdrawing money was as easy as taking something out of their pockets just by relying on their own imagination, but they had no idea how many thrilling and life-threatening stories were hidden under this seemingly simple appearance.

When we focus on the way of overseas withdrawal, for retail investors, it is like a towering and difficult to climb peak. Take Hong Kong as an example. Although some people lightly mention that it is legal to withdraw money here, the actual operation is not as easy as they imagine to go to the exchange point with the wallet address and easily exchange it for cash. Cryptocurrency withdrawal operations through Hong Kong trusts, on the surface, the threshold seems to be only 100,000 U, but in fact, this method is only applicable to groups with more than 2 million U of funds. Although offshore trusts have many attractive functions such as tax avoidance, debt avoidance, privacy protection, and wealth inheritance to children, the series of requirements behind them are like heavy shackles. From the careful preparation of wealth source documents to the strict KYC background check procedures, each link is like an insurmountable level. Moreover, high service fees and management fees need to be paid, which is undoubtedly an astronomical figure for retail investors who are short of money. Their meager funds cannot make a ripple in this field at all. What is even more troublesome is that retail investors who only hold mainland passports cannot get in here at all. They must also have overseas permanent residence status or a passport from a third country. This rigid condition ruthlessly shuts out many retail investors.

Let's take a look at the Hong Kong investment immigration route. Although virtual currency can be used as the basis for net asset audit, the tricks involved are complicated. It requires professional evaluation and valuation by YES HK Certified Public Accountants, and must meet a series of stringent conditions such as the public key of the virtual currency wallet is easy to identify and clear, only the private key holder can access and transfer, the rights of the virtual currency owner can be respected and attractive to third parties, and the virtual currency has a certain degree of permanent record on the blockchain. The funds required to complete this entire process are as high as 30 million (excluding handling fees). Such a huge amount is simply an unattainable dream for retail investors.

In addition to Hong Kong, the Salvadoran passport immigration project seems quite attractive, as it only costs $50,000 to obtain an identity, but for retail investors, this is just the first step in a long journey. In the subsequent withdrawal process, there will still be many challenges and difficulties, just like groping in the dark, and you may get lost at any time.

For ordinary retail investors, the only withdrawal channel that seems to exist in theory is to withdraw cash to overseas bank cards or third-party payment through exchanges, and then transfer it back to domestic cards for foreign exchange settlement or directly withdraw cash at domestic ATMs. However, it is difficult to operate in practice. Among the large exchanges, only a few can support withdrawals with mainland ID cards and passports, such as Binance and Kraken, and they each have special requirements. Taking Kraken as an example, if you want to withdraw US dollars directly to a US bank card via ACH, you must provide a US address certificate and tax number, which is undoubtedly an insurmountable obstacle for mainland ID card holders. In order to trade, you must first have an overseas bank account, which has spawned a complex industry. Take the application for Hong Kong cards, for example, the process is full of cumbersome procedures. Hong Kong cards are divided into two categories: virtual banks and physical banks. Virtual banks are relatively simple to apply for, and only need to be located in Hong Kong, but physical banks such as Bank of China, HSBC, Standard Chartered, CMB Wing Lung, etc., require a series of materials such as ID cards, Hong Kong and Macau passes, and entry receipts. BOC even requires proof of address (such as water, electricity, gas bills, credit card bills, etc. containing specific addresses and personal information) and bank statements. Although Standard Chartered, HSBC, BOC, Citi, East Asia, Hang Seng, OCBC and other banks have zero thresholds for opening accounts, no deposit requirements, no mandatory purchase of financial management and insurance, and no need to queue, the premise is that you must go to Hong Kong in person to handle it. Even if retail investors have finally managed the KYC link, the process of returning Hong Kong dollars to China is still full of variables. There are two main options for returning Hong Kong dollars to China. One is to transfer back to China for settlement, but this method will occupy the foreign exchange quota. If you use BOC's global same-name transfer, it is free, but the cross-border and inter-bank transfer fee will increase significantly. Virtual banks may charge a fee of 100-200HKD when transferring money, and will also trigger a series of problems such as explanation of the source of funds and due diligence. Even if the transfer amount of BOCHK is up to 1000WHKD, it will also face many problems and a large amount of explanation and provision of due diligence materials on the source of funds. In this case, retail investors' physical bank cards will almost certainly be targeted by the risk control system and put them in trouble.

On the thorny road of withdrawing money from the cryptocurrency circle, retail investors are like a group of travelers lost in the vast desert, looking for an oasis. There is a bottomless gap between the beautiful dream of withdrawing money in their hearts and the many difficulties they face in reality. The bright and smooth road they originally thought was actually a dangerous path full of thorns and traps. We must be soberly aware of this reality and must not be confused by those illusory fantasies. In the world of cryptocurrency, which is full of uncertainty, risks and challenges, only by being cautious and down-to-earth can we find our own safe harbor in this turbulent ocean. Otherwise, we will be beaten to pieces by the ruthless waves of reality, leaving endless regrets and sighs, and tasting the bitterness of failure alone in the dark corner.